He had always dreamed about building his own space shuttle ever since being a child.

But while most people would give up such an ambition as impractical, this Chinese farmer could just not let the dream go.

Huang Yuzhan spent more than a year building the 7m high rocket and 3.8m high shuttle at his home in Xiapu village, in southern China's Guangdong Province.

Huang Yuzhan, a farmer from Xiapu village in southern China's Guangdong Province, is seen posing with his home-made space shuttle and rocket model

Mr Yuzhan spent more than a year building the 7m high rocket and 3.8m high shuttle at his home in Xiapu village, in southern China's Guangdong Province

The rocket, complete with two boosters on either side, is now a prominent feature of the Xiapu skyline, rising high above the surrounding buildings.

The impressive structure, which appears to be made of ceramic tile, sits proudly on the top of the farmer's house.

Earlier this week, MailOnline reported on former Chinese military man Jian Lin, who built a fully functioning replica of the People's Liberation Army's Type 63A light tank, featuring a cannon that actually fires.

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Mr Jian, a former navy officer, built the vehicle after his six-year-old son asked for a tank for his birthday.

He said: 'I had a look around at what was available on the market but nothing really fitted what I wanted, which was when I decided to have a go at making one myself. I wanted the gift to be something really cool.'

The 31-year-old said he had originally decided to make a smaller working model but when he realised he could easily get hold of parts such as tractor tyres and a truck engine at an affordable price, he decided to go the whole hog and make a life-size replica.

The impressive structure, which appears to be made of ceramic tile, sits proudly on the top of the farmer's house

The rocket, complete with two boosters on either side, is now a prominent feature of the Xiapu skyline, rising high above the surrounding buildings

Mr Yuzhan had always dreamed about building his own space shuttle ever since being a child

He said: 'I used to work on maintaining military aircraft and later I retired and started work as a truck driver.

'I did quite well and decided to take some time out so I sold the truck but was then at a loose end – I don't like doing nothing. So the idea for this came along at exactly the right time.'

It was a hard job keeping the project under wraps but 31-year-old Mr Jian said all the work was worth it when he finally pulled off the covers of the vehicle and showed it to his son at their home in the village of Mianzhu in China's Sichuan province.

The proud dad had even donned his old military uniform to take the camouflage-painted tank for a spin.